Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
The Storyteller directed by Ananth Mahadevan premieres in the ‘Divyangjan’ section of 53rd IFFI
All sections of the society should be able to enjoy watching movies –Nagaraj Manjule
"We are looking at a bright future where no one should think whether the movie is audio-described" - Taha Haaziq
We will try and create more films as per the accessibility standards: Sanjay Ram, Creative Director, Film Jio Studios
#IFFIWood, 26 November 2022
IFFI-53 is for everyone. There has been an effort to make films accessible to even differently-abled film aficionados and promote the spirit of inclusivity in the International Film Festival of India this year.
The Storyteller directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, premiered in the ‘Divyangjan’ section of the festival today. The special screening has been audio-visually equipped with embedded audio descriptions and subtitles.
Shri Ravinder Bhakar, MD, National Films Development Corporation  felicitated Nagaraj Manjule ,a famous Marathi Director, Shri Sanjay Ram, Creative Director of Film Jio Studios, who graced the occasion. Ravinder Bhakar informed that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had specially instructed to make the festival accessible to all. Nagaraj Manjule wished that all sections of society should be able to enjoy watching movies.
Shri Sanjay Ram, Creative Director of Film Jio Studios, who have produced the film said, "We will try and create more films as per the present day accessibility standards".
Taha Haaziq, Secretary of State Commission for Persons with Disabilities in Goa with the Divyangjan audience
MD, NFDC felicitates Nagaraj Manjule
Taha Haaziq, Secretary of State Commission for Persons with Disabilities in Goa was also present. He praised the efforts taken by NFDC and IFFI for screening two films for Divyangjans."We are looking at a bright future where no one should think whether the movie is audio-described", he added. He asked few of the volunteers from the audience to watch the movie with a blind-fold to personally experience the feel of an audio-described movie.
The Divyangjan Special section this year in IFFI is a step towards making cinema an inclusive and accessible avenue for everyone. In this section, dedicated screenings for specially-abled audience will be organized keeping in mind their accessibility needs in terms of formats of film screening and venue infrastructure, and management. The films in this section have embedded subtitles, as well as audio descriptions. The audio descriptions are specially created audio tracks that narrates the visual information in a film. The audience can listen to the same, and the content of the film is conveyed to the audience which is otherwise not accessible. Apart from The Storyteller, Richard Attenborough’s Oscar winning Gandhi has also been audio-visually equipped with embedded audio descriptions and subtitles for screening in IFFI this year.
Background:
The Accessibility India  campaign promises to target three verticals – Built up environment, transportation ecosystem and the information and communication ecosystem.
The campaign would involve making transport, public space, tourist places, international airports, railway stations and information and communication technology in India differently-able friendly.
About the film The Storyteller:
Tarini Ranjan Bandhopadhyay, a maverick storyteller, is notorious for not sticking to one job and has switched 32 jobs in his working career. Now at 60, retired in Kolkata and a widower, his only regret is that he could never find the time to give his late wife Anuradha the vacation she always desired. And now suddenly, out of a job, he has all the time in the world, but his near ones aren’t close to him. It is based on Satyajit Ray’s story ‘Golpo Boliy Tarini Khuro’.
References:
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1877273